Christ, you might want to look away starting around 5:05. Disfigured old lady groin is not something you'll forget today. Interesting story though.

And now you know the rest of the story.

*promote
nice find sage.

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Thursday, October 24th, 2013 8:21am PDT - promote requested by enoch.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'McDonalds, Hot Coffee' to 'McDonalds, Hot Coffee, stella liebeck, lawsuit' - edited by xxovercastxx

I'm really thankful that this video exists. Like many people, I thought this event was petty, overblown and greedy of the victim. I met a guy in college a couple years later who somehow knew the factual details, and he filled me in on exactly what this video shows and explains.
Since then I have met countless people who still comment about how "stupid" the whole thing was, as I had once believed, and not being able to express the level of misunderstanding for it, all I could ever tell them was "you just... don't... know..."

ok, so it was "only" 500,000 dollars - that's the only new info here.

190 degrees is still a very common temperature for coffee or tea, it is in fact the ideal temperature for extraction, and yes, you are responsible if you spill coffee on yourself - doesn't matter whether or not you are driving at the time.

What - no Grand Theft Auto references?
And - this is no * drugs video.

Doesn't change my opinion any. Someone got burned by their own actions. Doesn't make it someone else's fault and shouldn't give you recourse to go after someone else for $$$ because something bad happened to you.

*quality

Boosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by lucky760.

Are you telling us Coffee or Caffeine is not a drug?

190 degrees may be the ideal temp for extraction, but what Mc Dickheads and the rest of the bath-water brew-drinkers at truck stops and corner markets fail to give a fuck about is the flavor of the undrinkable swill after it's SAT AFTER BREWING at a constant 190 degrees in those giant auto-brewer/hoppers for hours. Their "standards" are shit just like their food is poison.

Judgement for the plaintiff for poor choice in a place to buy coffee-esque, sub-critical temperature liquids from.

McDonalds handed a cup full of 3rd degree burns to a couple of ladies, and balked at her injuries is the real issue-They sucked then, and suck now, faceless, corporate balls.

People are retarded and need to be schooled on where to get real coffee along with good food and how to enjoy them both.

Anyone who thinks people shouldn't sue the shit-out of a death-dealing corporate monster like McDonalds constantly for anything including crimes against humanity, has already drunk the Kool-Aid.
The same people who fed on the media-hype when this happened have had their world-views shaped by the same entities who spun this story in McDonald's favor.

Fuck mickey-d's, this woman and her deceased mother are heroes.

this is right out of seinfield http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpcEietIoxk

I wonder in what way this story is used to screen jurors.

What side were YOU on?

I really did not think of having a side. I remember this .. but only remember that some lady got millions when "she" spilled coffee on herself. I remember everyone joking about it and saying that it was her fault and such, like the video describes, but I really did not have the full story.

Having watch this and to answer your question, McDonalds is selling a beverage that can cause such burns and to that end they should have payed her bills and expenses.

Since McDonalds decided to be dicks I'm glad she sued.
Hopes that answers your question.

Well to a point a agree.
However knowingly providing a product that can / will cause 3rd degree burns warrants special understanding of product continent and delivery.

A Styrofoam cup with a cheesy fitting lit seams a bit lacking.

A stronger containment system to prevent the lid from easily coming off seems like a step in the right direction.

If I was in a lab had had to transport some acid would I use a cheep container that would allow a possible accident if dropped or tipped over or would I desire to solid container / lid system?

I get it it's just coffee and we handle it every day and are aware of its danger. But we don't handle 190 degree coffee every day. Only and McDonalds

I remember reading a long time ago about just how hot the coffee was and why they kept it that hot So I knew for a long time that it wasn't a case of some unscrupulous woman looking for a quick buck along with some ambulance chaser lawyers.

So even though it was *not* a frivolous lawsuit, even the reduced amount of money she actually got seems excessive. I wish we lived in a world where simply paying the medical bills and maybe a little bit extra for the trouble for recompense was adequate

But then when think about it in the context of a big corporation. How do you induce a large company to change? unless you hit them where it hurts, the pocket book. You have to admit that McDonalds initial offer of a few hundred bucks was essentially them flipping the bird to her. Had they just paid the medical bills and a little bit extra and lowered the temp of the coffee, This would never have entered the public sphere.

Maybe if we lived in a world where people weren't so obsessed about profits and the bottom line, we wouldn't have a situation like this.

Yeah, it's also literally undrinkable when you're handed a cup at that temperature. Attempting to drink it won't burn you as badly as if it seeps into your clothes, but first degree burns on your tongue is not a good time. Brewing temperature and serving temperature should be entirely separate.

And, for all the bullshit she went through, I do think this woman eventually changed things. If you go to McDonalds now, you still won't get good coffee, but you will get it at a reasonable temperature and with a sturdy cup and lid. And, whatever cream and sugar you want is already added, so you don't have to immediately do surgery on a floppy cylinder of lava resting between your legs.

This is about water temperature and not about caffeine - for all we know the scalding hot cup of Joe was decaf..

It's 190 degrees in Farenheit. In Celsius that's only 88 degrees. It's well below boiling and I dare say most of us do handle boiling water regularly.

I agree her story is an important cautionary tale and reminder just how dangerous boiling water can be. I do NOT believe it means that selling boiling or near boiling water to customers should be considered unethical and reckless. Boiling water is a common enough substance, and well enough understood that hands down the responsibility for handling it properly should fall with the user.

I guess I still stand with the idea that suing somebody for selling you boiling water because you later spill it on yourself is as stupid an idea to me now as ever.

Actually, 165° is the ideal temp, not 190. And if you're super snobby, it's exactly 172°. I've even heard people ask for that at Starbucks . . . . Yeah, dumbass. Their coffee sucks to begin with so I don't care if you want it "ideal temperature". Plus, they had been warned numerous times and had been told my OSHA to turn it down or someone will burn. Not to mention, when you repeatedly have a problem with stupid people, it's cheaper to just comply. I mean, it's McDonalds, they already dumb everything down anyway. Ever tasted their food?

I still consider it drugs - but that's just me.
Example: If the video was about about a company that made faulty needles, it would be both Drugs and Engineering, even if no drugs were present in the video.

4 more comments have been lost in the ether at this killed duplicate.

You should submit it or else...

2 more comments have been lost in the ether at this killed duplicate.

Adam Ruins Everything - The McDonald's Coffee Lawsuit has been added as a related post - related requested by eric3579 on that post.